Valentine
by Vallentyne
Summary: My name is Valentine Anastasie Rene. I'm a made up person, with a made up life. I had a history, but it was a lie. Now that I'm here, can i even make a future?    NOT SLASH! HarryXOC OR DracoXOC!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Black. When I opened my eyes, all I could see was black. Or rather, I couldn't see anything at all, so I assumed it was black. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face and all I could hear was my own shaky breathing. Somewhere, someone turned on a weak light, one I couldn't quite see so much as feel. Then another came on, then another, and as the lights flickered on, the breathing started. The silence was now riddled with whistles and wet, choking pants- first one, then two, then four, these disembodied sounds came. I couldn't see them, but I could finally see me.

A mirror stretched for miles in both directions in front of me. The flickering lights in the distance lit up my reflection; at least I thought they did. The girl in front of me, my reflection, was in fact a woman, and that's where our similarities stopped. This girl had skin that looked like heavy cream, a whiteness so profound that it couldn't be real. There was no rosy tone to her cheeks, no movement in her breast, although I knew she was breathing. Nothing about this reflection signaled that this girl was alive. She could've been carved out of a block of ice for all I knew. Her hair was a blonde so pale it was almost silver and it floated down past her tiny waist in subtle waves. Everything about her was delicate, fragile.

I wanted to reach out and protect the wide eyed girl from those panting things that inched ever closer. But when I looked into her big green eyes, I saw an almost feral strength. Like she was preparing for the battle of her life. The flecks of silver in her emerald eyes glittered in the weak light and she turned, I turned, to face the enemy. They crept into the light slowly. Their feet made no sounds, just their raspy breaths. They looked just like people, all around the same age, dressed in black robes. But as soon as the first one breached the light, I felt my throat constrict.

There was no fear, only shock. These people were dead. They had to be. There was no way a person could possibly survive an injury like that! Their necks all had jagged lines crisscrossing around like some sort of dark red necklace. The whistling was from their breathing trying to go past those tears, and their eyes were all black, the whole thing! No white showed at all. At first, I thought maybe they were inferi, for they bowed onto one knee and waited as if I was their master. But inferi didn't act like this. They tore at whatever they could reach. They all showed signs of decay and death, and this army had none - but their slashed throats. One in front looked up at me from beneath the shroud covering his head and reached out his hand. "Misstressss. Command usssss."

I shot up and opened my eyes, screaming and screaming. I saw the people rush into my bed chamber. Watched as they tried to quiet me, but I was still lost in his black eyes. I could still hear his throaty whistle as he confirmed my blackest fear: they were mine. I created them. And that thought is what gave me pause. I stopped screaming and realized the absurdity of this. I asked for a mirror and a wand. I grabbed the wand first and concentrated on the book at the foot of my bed. "Accio!" And nothing. Nothing moved, I felt no rush of magic like all the books said. There was nothing. I felt the tears start sliding down my face and grabbed the mirror. When I looked, I felt relief and also despair. Relief because I was myself, not _her_. I had my own tangled rat's nest of mousy brown hair, my own flat brown eyes, and my whole face was flushed pink from all the excitement. Despair because _she_ could do magic. Powerful magic by the looks of it.

I was in one of the most powerful, most influential, most magical olde families of all time and I was the first squib ever to disgrace these hallowed halls. My parents did not blame me, though. They blamed themselves because, after all, it was them that made me. They must have done something wrong. And because they blamed themselves, I was miserable. I made the only people who ever loved me, who weren't disgusted at me, miserable. I knew I should just go end it. There was no point to my life. I couldn't go outside for fear of people discovering what I was. It was disgusting, I was disgusting.

Annie came in with my daily potion, a rather unpleasant smelling one if I may say so. Jeunes Magique. I had taken the potion every day since I was seven. It was designed to induce uncontrollable bursts of magic. It helped worried parents to determine whether or not they had magical children. We waited the five minutes it was supposed to take, and still there was nothing. It had happened that way for nearly eight years, and the weight of disappointment still crashed down on me. I always felt like it should've happened just after, even though I knew I didn't have it. It should've happened.

"Annie?"

"Yes, mistress?"

"Have we always used the same cauldron of the potion? What if we made it wrong or its gone bad or something?" I knew this little speck of hope would destroy me for days, just like all the others would. The doughy old elf cocked her eyebrow at me. Her pause, that little hesitation, just gave me more hope.

"Yes, mistress. I will have another made but we may have to skip a few days, mistress."

That little bit of light exploded into a full-blown ray. It warmed me up from the inside out. And then came the little shred of darkness. What if it didn't work? What if it really was just because I AM a squib? Could I handle that pain again? And then I heard my father's voice in the back of my head. _Never let the fear of losing keep you from playing the game, ma petit amie._

"Annie wait! Can you not tell mother or father about this? I wouldn't want to hurt their feelings by insulting their skill in potions."

Annie paused by the door and cocked her wrinkled little head for a moment. "Of course, mistress."

And she left.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The dream came again that night, like every night before it. Always the same. I was no expert, but when you aren't allowed out of your house, and you're family is an old pureblooded family, you don't have things like television so you turn to books. I had read thousands, almost our entire library. Father was going to have new books brought in. One book in particular, I remember reading. Psychologie: Une étude de Reves. That's another thing. When you read as often as i do, you tend to remember things exactly as you read them. One in particular section stuck out in my mind.

_« __Quand on rêve, il est __souvent soit__un souvenir refoulé__ou une pensée__subconscient__. __Beaucoup trouvent que__la suite de leur__rêves__peut conduire au bonheur__. __C'est parce que__, par __rêves__suivante__, on apprend __souhaite__la plus grande__de leur__subconscient__et ses désirs.__Il ya beaucoup d'__une __sorts et__potions__qui peuvent__donner des résultats similaires__, mais la magie, pour ainsi dire, __tend à se perdre__sur le participant.__Les rêves sont__aussi__exactement comme__des flocons de neige__. __Il n'ya pas deux__qui se ressemblent.__Certains__peuvent ressembler à__d'autres, mais__vous ne serez jamais__répéter un__rêve.__"_

Basically, dreams are repressed memories and subconscious desires. Now, I know it can't be a memory because that girl looked nothing like me and she was my age. It was a desire of mine, but obviously not subconscious, since i thought about it just about every day. The part that frightened me most was the end. A dream, like a snowflake, is never duplicated. They may be similar, but they are never exactly the same.

Except, my dreams were. Exactly identical in every way. I was pulled out of my musing by Annie, who entered with a silver tray and a cup containing the potion.

« Annie ? I thought you said it would take a few days for the potion to be ready ? »

« I did, mistress. You did not wish for your parents to learn of this, so i brought you pumpkin juice instead. »

« Annie, that's genius! » Honestly, I was shocked. I mean, I didn't look down on house elves in the way other purebloods did. I thought they were useful and the majority was really quite nice. I just never expected Annie to be so …. Cunning. I drank down my pumpkin juice in one big gulp and skipped off to the library. After remembering that quote, I wanted to read a little more about the study of dreams.

The next day, morning filtered in through my skylight. I jumped up in shock. I didn't dream last night. At all. No zombies, no silver hair, nothing. For the first time in almost sixteen years, I didn't wake up screaming. The next day, the same happened, and then the day after that. It was amazing! I wasn't dreaming that horror story anymore! I was free. I felt weightless, like I could fly.

"_Subvolo". _It whispered in the back of my mind, and then it came through my lips. "_Subvolo"_. And….. I was flying! I was using magic to fly. I was using magic! I wasn't a squib! I was a witch! I had found my magic and for the first time in my life, I was whole. My skin was a bit lighter and my hair had grown. I looked different. I felt different. Magic had changed me. Suddenly, everything was beautiful. Every little thing that I had hated and cursed for being magical was beautiful. I could feel its magic, feel its life flowing through it and connecting it to the house. The Ferrand family would never be tainted again. My parents could be proud of me. I was flying down the stairs when a thought occurred to me. Why had my magic only shown itself now? Now, when I had stopped taking the potion designed solely to induce magic? The potion I had taken my entire life. _**The potion my parents had given me my entire life.**_

I refused to lose my magic. It was too much a part of me already. No, I would keep this a secret from everyone, even Annie. And I would run away. No longer would I be Lucille Annette Ferrand. I would be Valentine Anastasie Rene.

My head was pounding from all the screeching. Babies crying, people shouting, and above all, trains firing their gigantic whistles- all of these sounds and more assaulted my ears, and after living inside every second of every day, the noise was almost unbearable. I had escaped to England. I'd read in a book titled Hogwarts, A History that there was a school of magic in Scotland. I had of course written to them immediately after deciding to run away and given their headmistress my complete- and fake- back-story. I wove a tale of a lost child. My parents had disappeared at the start of the war for trying to defy He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I had escaped with my family's house elf from our chateau in France and quit attending Beaubaton's. I had hid for three years before I felt it was safe to come out, and still I left France because of the corruption in our ministry. I gave her my new name and asked for a place at her school.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The woman wrote me back shortly asking why I had lied about my name, which gave me pause. What if she looked into the school records at Beaubaton's? But then, a stroke of genius occurred. I wrote again telling her that there was a specific family of death eater's, the Avery family, that had a personal vendetta against my own family and that I wished to remain discreet, if that was alright with her. She gushed and said that yes, of course I'd have a place at her school! So here I was, two weeks later, in the middle of King's Cross Station on September the first.

It was nearly ten o'clock and I still had not found this platform 9 ¾. I had considered asking one of the men working at the station, but when I approached one, he looked down at me and frowned in distaste at my clothes. I hadn't really thought through my escape, and so had only packed wizard clothing. I also only brought wizard money and so had to beg for lodging, seeing as I didn't know of any wizard establishments in England. Besides Diagon Alley of course, but I had no idea how to get there, so I gave up and slept in alleys. As a result, I think I must've looked rather bedraggled. I had been cleaning myself with a quick _scourgify_ whenever I was certain there were no muggles around and I had been wearing the same set of robes for nearly three days now. Because I didn't know where anything was, Headmistress McGonagall had said she would provide everything I'd need upon arriving at the station, so I looked for this platform nearly an hour ahead of when it would leave for the Headmistress. After fifteen minutes of looking, I decided to sit and wait between platforms nine and ten and listen to the passersby.

"Get up and move you slimy piece of muggle filth" broke me out of my daydreams. As far as first impressions go, this guy was a total arse. No "please". All insults, and a disgusting sneer that marred his otherwise handsome face. I was NOT muggle filth! WAIT A SECOND! He had said "muggle" just now. He was a wizard? Ugh. I assumed all wizards were kind and welcoming, if they were on the side of the light. I guess I really was quite sheltered.

" Yes sir" I mumbled before crawling away. He didn't know, but I was still watching him drag his trunk towards one of the columns. What the heck was that bumbling jerk doing now? I followed his eyes as he looked around the plaza before charging towards the pillar.

"STOP!" I hadn't even realized I was going to speak until I did, but my voice rang out over the whole station. And stop it did. Everyone stopped everything and stared at the little girl lying in rags with her hand outstretched. Even that nasty boy had stopped and stared. They all stared at me for a few more awkward moments before the bustling started again. The boy waited until no one was looking anymore before running over to me and grabbing me, rather harshly I might add, by my arm. He dragged me back to the column before hissing in my ear "What did you see?". I just stared up at him a moment then let my magic out a little to touch his own. He gasped and dropped me.

"You're a witch?" he asked, a bit incredulously.

"No. I'm the freaking queen of France you bloody git." I said. I was rather proud of myself for that one, though it was neither cunning nor witty. Then I turned away from him and walked towards the column. I reached a hand out to touch it and my fingertips sank right through the bricks. To say I was shocked would be an understatement, but the boy was still watching so I hid my surprise. Instead, I walked right through and into an even louder platform than the one I had come from. He came through behind me.

" You cant be more than, what, thirteen? Why haven't I seen you here before? Are you French?"

He rambled and rambled and I let him. I didn't really care what sort of assumptions the sod made about me, I just wanted to find the Headmistress.

"Take me to the headmistress." My own voice sounded strange in my ears. Louder than usual and surprisingly full of confidence, though I was secretly scared out of my mind.

The boy just sneered again and stared before pushing me, again quite roughly, towards an older woman in starched looking green robes.

"Ah you must be Miss Rene. It is a pleasure to meet you. And escorted by Mr. Malfoy? Making friends already." Her voice curved up in pitch when she got to the jerk's name, almost as if she was surprised to find that he had been courteous?

I curtsied low to her and said "The pleasure is all mine Madame. Thank you for having me here."

She laughed rather gaily after that, a sound which was rather at odds with her cool demeanor. The boy looked surprised to see her laugh also and began studying me again. Why hadn't he left? She brought me to the train and we boarded it together.

"You are sixteen, correct?"

"Oui, Madame."

"Then you will be in your sixth year here at Hogwarts. You will be sorted here in just a moment, although perhaps I should let you get dressed first?"

And with that said, she pulled her wand out of her sleeve and enlarged a small trunk. It grew to the same size as the boy's and she pulled a rather short looking black skirt and a button up white shirt out of it. I guess that was me being sheltered, once again.

" Here you are, dear. The Heads' bathroom is just down the hall and on your left. You can shower there and get dressed. I will send our head girl in about an hour to check on you."

"Thank you Madame." I said with another low curtsy.

I grabbed the clothes and also reached in the trunk to find undergarments and shoes. I took them down the hall with me, which was curiously deserted. When I got to the bathroom, the door was locked. The portrait just next to it was staring at me as if I were a dolt.

"Password?" the Victorian man drawled.

"Umm I'm rather sorry, but I don't know it. I was just with the Headmistress and she said to clean up in here."

"Well this is the heads' bathroom and I certainly can't let just _anyone _in. No matter how much they need a bath." He stated again. Pompous git. What was it with English men? Did they all have a sneer like that?

Just as I was about to put that sodding arse in his place, I felt a large, warm hand on my shoulder and heard a rather pleasant voice say "Nox".

I spun around and saw a familiar looking face, though I couldn't quite place him. His black shaggy hair fell across his forehead and covered his pale green eyes a bit. He smiled behind his round glasses and said "That's the password. Nox. Just so you know."

I couldn't really think of much to say after that so I just mumbled thanks and opened the door. You can't judge me too harshly when it comes to my social skills now. I was locked away in a house for my entire life with a house elf as my only companion, remember? I was just brushing past him when he grabbed my shoulder again.

"I'm Harry by the way. I don't think I've seen you before. Are you a fourth year? What's your name?"

The familiar boy looked at me expectantly with his hand awkwardly suspended between us. Finally I took it and he began to shake it, which I thought was a rather strange custom. "I'm Valentine." Was all I said. I was tongue tied. I mean, I'd never really met a nice boy before. I'd met the Malfoy jerk and he's the only boy I've ever met besides my Dad. So I just ran through the doorway and slammed it shut in his astonished face. I breathed out in relief as soon as I heard his footsteps walk away and I turned on the taps.

**Harry**

**What the heck was that? I was just walking along when all of a sudden, I came upon this tiny, rather dirty looking girl getting chewed out by the portrait guarding the head's toilet. When I watched the tears start to glisten in her eyes, I realized she reminded me an awful lot of me way back when I lived with the Dursleys. She couldn't have been more than fourteen and she looked like she'd been living out of a trashcan for weeks. **

**So I did something I wish someone had done for me when I was being chewed out by Uncle Vernon. I helped.**

"**Nox." I told the portrait with a rather disapproving glare. She twirled around to face me and I realized how close to tears she really was, how terrified she seemed to be. **

**She didn't say anything and she kind of seemed to avoid looking me in the eye so I just tried again.**

"**That's the password. Nox. Just so you know." I waited for her to say thank you or something with a rather idiotic smile. She might've but all I heard was a soft mumble before she made a break for the bathroom. I was so surprised that I kind of grabbed her. I felt really bad immediately so I tried to brush it off. I put out my hand and introduced myself. **

"**Harry by the way. I don't think I've seen you before. Are you a fourth year? What's your name?" I left my hand out there and waited again, this time hesitantly. I tried to keep my hair covering my scar, but once I told her my name, well, there was no hiding who I was. So I waited for her to turn into a giggling fangirl, but she just looked at my hand with a confused expression before she put her's out the same way. I shook it while she whispered "I'm Valentine."**

**Then, she ran. Again.**

"**Valentine." I heard someone whisper. I looked around before I realized it had been me.**


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for your supportive reviews. I really appreciate all of the input.

To all of you who don't like the story, i still appreciate your reviews and i'll try to make you happy, too.

Apparently this isn't obvious to everyone, but don't like, don't read.

Chapter 4

This room was laced with a giant magic web, I could feel it pulse. And it was kind of obvious. I mean, we were on a bloody train, a bathroom couldn't be this big. It was huge and the tub looked like a large hot tub or a small swimming pool. It also filled up surprisingly fast and when I got in, it was warm and smelled of vanilla, my favorite. It seemed an hour passed far sooner than I thought and soon I heard a hesitant knock on the door. "Miss Rene? Valentine? My name is Hermione Granger. The headmistress was supposed to send me in an hour but my friend harry came and said he met you in the hallway and you seemed….nervous, so I thought maybe we could talk while you finish getting ready."

I had no idea what to say, so I jumped out of the tub, grabbed a big white towel and opened the door.

A girl with curly brown hair and a warm smile walked right in and stuck her hand out to me. Again with the weird hand thing? I shook it like I had with Harry's and just stood there awkwardly. Hermione was talking to me but I was a little distracted by the fact that I was standing in front of a stranger nearly naked. Finally, my awkwardness beat out my good manners and I interrupted her. "May I please get dressed?"

Her mouth formed a little o of surprise and she blushed scarlet before stuttering and running off to the sitting parlor off to the side of the room. I turned around and dressed quickly before joining her there.

"I'm Valentine Anastasie Rene. You are Hermione Granger, Head girl?"

"Yes, of course, that's me! I'm in my eighth year and Harry and I are head boy and head girl. He's the one you met a half hour ago. We're here to help you out with any questions you might have. Did you know your name means 'to choose'?" When she got to her name, she paused as if waiting for me to jump her or something. She seemed like a bit of a know-it-all, but I rather liked her. She was loud, pushy, and confident. Everything I was not.

"I did actually. Thank you for your kind words. I'm a little new to all of this and I haven't been taught formally in three or so years. The war caused a bit of an extended vacation for me. As far as questions go, I read a few books before I came here and Hogwarts, A History actually answered most of the questions I've had so far." I'd never seen so many emotions fly across someone's face so fast before! Happiness at my thanks, excitement at my inexperience, sorrow at my mention of the war, and pure bliss when I mentioned the book.

"Oh my God! I've waited for someone like you for years! That's my favorite book ever in the history of ever! Finally! Someone who will take school seriously! Someone who appreciates the value of a good book!" And then she did something which scared me half to death, even worse than the Malfoy boy. Hermione Granger hugged me.

I kind of just sat there for a moment before she realized I wasn't hugging her back.

Her face flushed before she murmured "OH im sorry! It must be terrifying for you to be in such a strange place with strange people. I'm certainly not helping by shouting at you, am I? I guess I just got a little carried away. Here, let me help. Do you have a hair brush? I could brush your hair while you tell me about yourself."

I looked at her, a bit suspicious. No one had ever been so welcoming to me before, but I guess that was because they thought I was a squib. And there was no sign of dishonesty on her open face, so I went to the trunk and found a hairbrush before bringing it back to her and sitting down.

"So, you're a sixth year? You look sixteen to me." When I looked at her curiously she hurried to explain herself."Harry said you looked about fourteen years old with dark blonde hair and kind of grayish skin."

"Oh. No, you see, I've been in France hiding for about three years. When I came to England, I didn't know any wizards and I didn't know where to find any. Unfortunately, I only had wizard money and I couldn't exchange it at a bank because I didn't know where any might be. So I suppose I haven't really had a proper bath in a while, or really eaten either." As soon as I said I was hungry, I realized how true that was. I hadn't eaten in days and I was famished. My belly grumbled in agreement and Hermione pulled a sandwich out of a paper bag next to her.

"Here, have mine. We'll get something off the trolley, too later, okay?"

I took the sandwich and gobbled the whole thing down. Hermione chuckled at me a bit before picking up our conversation again.

"Well, Harry was right you are rather small, but I think it's just because you were so malnourished. But he was wrong about almost everything else. Your hair is so light it's almost silver and your skin is very pale, but completely clean."

My eyes widened and I jolted up. I ran to the big mirror in the bathroom and stared at my reflection. Before me stood a rather scrawny looking girl with wide eyes. Wide emerald green eyes with little silver specks. My hair had grown even longer since I had left and almost reached my waist in soft metallic waves. I still looked nothing like the girl from my dreams though. Where she had looked lifeless and cold, I looked flushed and warm. A pink blush lit up my cheeks and I almost sighed in relief. I wasn't that woman. I was just much ….lighter.

It took me a moment, but I soon noticed Hermione standing beside me looking nervous.

I turned to her and explained "I've been dying my hair brown so I could disguise myself. I guess I just hadn't realized it had changed back already. I'm also a bit ashamed of how awful I must have looked to Harry and that Malfoy boy."

Understanding dawned on her face and I was rather proud of my quick little lie, although it wasn't entirely false. The potion was obviously hiding my appearance for some reason or another.

"Ah, I see. Well you are quite beautiful with this hair color. I'm sure it fits you much better than that brown. Here let's finish cleaning you up and I'll properly introduce you to Harry. He's still rather worried about you."

"He's worried about me? He doesn't even know me!" I choked out. No one had ever worried about me before. It was a weird, although not unpleasant feeling.

"Yeah. That's kind of his thing. He's got a bit of a saving people complex, but then I guess you knew that. Did you say Malfoy, as in Draco Malfoy?" She asked.

"Umm I guess. Tall, reasonably attractive, blonde, total git with a disgusting sneer and eyes full of contempt?"

Her eyebrows raised in wonder at my little display of agitation. Then, she started laughing. I mean really laughing, with snorts and belly-holding and everything. Soon, I was laughing with her. I wasn't sure why, but her laughter was quite infectious.

"Yes, that sounds exactly like him. Good to know he's still his same old self. Here com on. Let's go find Harry, okay?" she sniggered.

"Sounds good to me." I murmured a little bit nervously.


	5. Chapter 5

This one's dedicated to luvsbooks412. It's people like you that really bring a story to life :)

Chapter 6

As we squeezed past another giggling group of girls, something dawned on me. Hermione had said Harry had a bit of a 'saving people complex, but I guess you knew that already'.

"Hermione?" I started in a small voice."How would I know that your friend Harry, whom I have never met before today, had a saving people complex?"

I waited for her to be angry that a squib had dared ask her about herself or her friends, shrinking back a bit before I remembered I wasn't a squib anymore, but a pureblooded, and apparently fairly powerful witch.

She looked at me with wide eyes before squealing and grabbing my wrist. She proceeded to drag me down the narrow passageway into another car before we got to her compartment. I suppose if I wouldn't have been so distracted by the excited witch, I would've noticed the people looking at us funny or the first years whispering "She's Harry Potter best friend" and "That poor little girl. Granger's already got another kid to rat out." But as it was, I was trying mostly not to fall on my face in front of all those people.

Hermione, jeez what a name, dragged me through her compartment door and apparently startled Harry awake because he was now looking rather drowsily up at us from his new position on the floor of the compartment. Another boy, a ginger, was looking at me with a scandalized expression. It took me a moment before I realized he was probably embarrassed at being caught in his pajamas, sitting in a pile of candy, by a stranger.

" 'Ermoine! Who duh bwoody hell iv vat?" The ginger shouted through a mouthful of wiggling chocolate. Around his feet lay thirty or so chocolate frog boxes. Between the groggy black haired boy and the red-faced ginger, I was terrified. This compartment held as many people as I had ever known and they were all staring. At me.

So, I did the only logical thing a sheltered run away could do. I ran.

I slammed the compartment behind me and high tailed it out of there. I could hear Hermione shouting "Ronald! She just got out of the warzone! She's been hiding away and is new to the bloody country! You scared her!" and I suppose in the back of my mind I registered that the ginger's name was Ronald. For whatever reason, his name also sparked a familiar feeling, just like Harry and Hermione's. I still hadn't placed where I knew them from; I just remembered their names and faces. I just didn't recognize them. Why, you may ask? Because I was scared out of my knickers. The English were a terrifying and threatening people and I was sure there was a spot where I could be alone somewhere on this massive train. Once again, I ignored the shocked people who jumped out of the way of the psychotic new girl. I had made it through three cars and managed to ignore everyone before I really messed up. I ran head first into a wall. A wall that I managed to knockdown. A wall that grunted when it fell.

For a moment I just curled into the "wall" (I refused to acknowledge it for what it actually was, because that would just make me cry more). The warm….."wall" …. Beneath curled its….arms….around me. I guess "it" felt me shaking and must've realized I was still crying because it put an arm beneath my knees and my shoulders and picked me up. He stood straight up (I obviously couldn't avoid the truth anymore. Walls don't just pick people up. Even in the wizard world.) and carried me into a nearby compartment. For the first time that day, I realized why people thought I was so young. I was a petite girl already and not eating must have taken off a lot of weight because he picked me up like I was a pillow…or some other equally light weight thing.

Four kids walked out of the compartment grumbling quietly to themselves, but I didn't care. He laid me down carefully, like I was a piece of glass. And went back to shut the compartment door. As soo as I heard the click, I started crying anew. It was all too much. Too much noise, too many people, too many emotions, too many feelings. I just wanted to be back in my bed at Ferrant Manor. I missed France. It was so much fairer than England. Warmer, more colorful, everything was living. Here, it all felt grey. That's how I'd describe England: grey. I know when you think about it, the climate really isn't that different. But the people felt different. This was the first person I had met in all of England that didn't look at me with contempt, or curiosity. It was like they understand how scared I was and instead of laughing or pushing for answers, they just took care of me.

He came back over to me and lifted my feet up before sitting down and putting them back on his lap. He hesitantly put his hand down on my ankles, probably afraid of scaring me again, and I drifted off with tears still running down my face and a stranger holding my feet.

First day of school: weird.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry its been so long guys. Ill try to keep it at at least a chapter a week. For all two of you reading it ;)

Chapter 6

_Draco_

"_Please Zabini. Like you could every get more chicks than me. I'm a Malfoy." I sneered again, this time with the utmost confidence. I was, after all, a Malfoy. We always get what we want._

"_Hey mate. It's not like they're flocking to you. What, have women suddenly been throwing themselves at you, Draco?" Blaise retorted. _

_I opened my mouth to inform that they had, in fact, been crowding in to comfort the "poor boy led astray by the dark lord." Apparently many women have this 'comforting sad men' complex. Right as I was ready to really let him have it, some whimpering little girl body checked me! _

_I could hear Blaise laughing to himself while looking down at me. "Wow. You were right. I bow down to you, your highness of woman catching." He was full out laughing by then, but I had just realized that the little girl on top of me was crying. Now, Old Draco would've pushed off the little bint and cursed her for dirtying his new robes, but New Draco was had to be nice now. And from the feel of the girl on his chest, something was seriously wrong with her health. I sat up and started grabbing her, hoisting her up and ignoring Blaise's innuendos as I made my way towards the nearest I opened the door, a bunch of sixth years looked up from their game of Exploding Snap. I took a moment to be Old Draco and sent them a sneer which would've made Lucius proud. That is, it would have if the idiot hadn't gotten himself locked away in Azkaban. They scattered just like I wanted, not even bothering to stop and grab their trolley snacks or blankets.I laid her down on the seat before shutting the door and sitting under her feet. She started crying more before she fell asleep. _

_She looked so sick. I wasn't sure if it was her natural coloring, but she looked awfully pale. At first, I thought she was a Veela cause of her silver hair, but her dark green eyes said she wasn't full Veela. Probably had an uncle or aunt somewhere in the mix. For whatever reason, I felt like I'd met her before, but I couldn't get a read on her because she refused to look at me. So instead I just sat with her and watched until she would wake up._

**Harry**

**What had happened? One moment I was having a delightful dream where I finally grew a pair and broke up with Ginny. She took it amazingly well and still invited me to have dinner with the Weasleys. We were all sitting around a table full of desserts and Mr. Weasley was just telling me about a new ministry order that said the Daily Prophet was no longer allowed to write about me or my friends in the news when I heard a door slam and I was falling. I opened my eyes and looked up at Hermione's flushed face before I saw a little Veela girl cowering behind her. I was still blinking the sleep out of my eyes and trying to get off Ron's candy box mess on the floor when Ron shouted at Hermione.**

" '**Ermoine! Who duh bwoody hell iv vat?" Ugh. Apparently Ron still hadn't learned to talk without food in his mouth. Honestly, I'm a guy, so it never bothered me. What sucked was Hermione's ensuing lecture about his 'incorrigible manners', her words not mine. I swear it was like those two were married already. The girl behind Hermione looked vaguely familiar, but I figured I'd find out who it was in a moment so I didn't really put much thought into it. I guess I might've been staring a little harshly when she dashed away. Valentine. That's when I recognized her. She ran away again. **

**I distantly heard Hermione shouting at Ron, something about Valentine being in the war and foreign and then Ron's awful manners and scaring her away. I heard the last bit so I looked up at Hermione's red face and asked "What'd you just say about Valentine?"**

**Hermione stared at me for a second before starting again, albeit at a much softer volume. "Valentine's full name is Valentine Anastasie Rene. She's from France and she ran away from her house when death eaters took her family. She lived in hiding in France for three years, alone, before coming here. Apparently, she didn't know where any wizard establishments are, so she's been living on the streets for weeks."**

**Oh. So that was why she looked so scrawny and dirty when I first saw her. And why she always seemed to look like a scared little rabbit. Part of my heart broke when I heard her story. She really was like me. She lost her parents to Voldemort, she lived without proper shelter and food for years, and she was looked down on by everyone. At least I had Ron and Hermione. Valentine didn't sound like she had anyone at all. **

"**I'll find her." I choked out, talking right over Hermione and Ron's latest argument. They looked a little surprised, like they forgot I was there at all. I got up off my now sore arse and walked out the door, leaving the confused couple behind. I figured out quite quickly which directions she took based on the grumbling people to my right. I followed the chaos three cars away when I neared Blaise Zabini and a group of slytherins. I was just passing them when I heard Pansy Parkinson say in her nasally voice "I can't believe that bint just threw herself at Draco like that! She knocked him to the floor and probably hurt my poor Drakie poo!"**

**I held back the urge to snort when I looked at Pansy's poor attempt at puppy dog eyes and asked if she knew where the 'bint that threw herself at Malfoy' went. She pointed to a closed compartment a few feet away and I prayed Malfoy hadn't frightened her more than we had, while I cursed Malfoy, just in case he hurt her. Better safe than sorry, especially when dealing with a git like Malfoy.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Valentine

My eyes wouldn't open when I first woke up. It was like they were glued shut or something and when I reached my hand up to claw at my eyes, I realized they were. The salt from my earlier tears had stuck my eyelashes together. I rubbed at them until they opened and looked down curiously at my hand. My eyelashes were apparently black, despite the fact that my hair was now light blonde. How very bizarre. And cold. Why was it so cold? When I sat up, I realized two things: one, my blanket was thrown on the floor, and two, the body heating up my feet was gone. I picked up the blanket again and wrapped it around my shoulders, even throwing an edge up on top of my head to disguise myself. Judging by the noise outside the compartment, there were some already agitated people out there and I didn't want to remind them that I had probably body checked some of them a little while ago.

I slid my hand into the door handle and barely cracked it open, trying to be as quiet as I could. Through that minute sliver of light I could see some very blonde hair and Harry's enraged face. It looked like the two were having a shouting match and I couldn't believe anyone could make Harry so angry. I mean, I'd only known him a few hours, but he really seemed pretty amicable. Which led me to wonder what that blonde boy could've done.

"If you touched her, I'll hex you into a cell next to your father's, ferret!"

"Why the bloody hell would you care Potter? Fancy the newbie already, huh? That'll make the weaslette pretty mad, won't it? Ah but she's probably used to being second best by now."

"Don't talk about Ginny, Malfoy! Ten points from Slytherins!"

….Malfoy?

Oh god it couldn't be _that _Malfoy. It was impossible that the boy who had spit in my face and dragged me around the train station could be the same one who had carried me into a private compartment and tucked me in after I practically assaulted him! It couldn't! …Could it?

Hermione had said something earlier about being unsurprised that Malfoy hadn't changed. Maybe he had, but only around certain people? What had happened between those two boys fighting outside in the corridor? And why did I just feel a twinge of something, maybe unease, roll through me when Harry defended some girl named Ginny?

Argh! Too many questions, too many people! I knew I should've just stayed home. Without magic. Being constantly looked down on. No, leaving had been the right decision. Unfortunately, life as a witch in England had not amounted to as much as she had imagined. But still, it was better than that poor excuse for a life she had before.

'God! Look at me. Here I am with a brand new life and brand new powers in a brand new place, and what am I doing? I'm hiding. What was the point of running away if I'm just going to be the same timid little mouse I was before?'

And with that little scolding, I opened the door all the way.

**Harry**

'**How dare Malfoy insult Ginny like that? I mean, I know the Weasleys aren't exactly well off, but to say Ginny was second best at everything? That was a downright lie! She was easily the most attractive girl in school. Not like Malfoy's little witch.'**

"**Ginny's a thousand times better than Pansy! Who in their right mind names a girl Pansy? Especially when she's as snot-nosed and un-ladylike as Parkinson!"**

**I watched as Draco's face went from its usual milk white to a red that actually rivaled Ron. Perhaps I had gone too far? No! HE started it, not me! HE insulted Ginny first, and you don't just stand by and take it when someone like Malfoy insults your woman! It just doesn't work that way.**

"**First off, Potter, Parkinson is NOT my wench! She's a nice little shag on the side. And she's a thousand times better than your blood-traitor Weasley! Second, what right do you have to insul-"**

"**Oi! Hawwy! Didjou fine 'er yeh?"**

**Thank God Ron came bursting through the doors when he did, because I'm pretty sure there would be blood over this one. And chances are it wouldn't look to well if the head boy was seen fighting before they even reached the school. And to make matters worse, it would've been a Gryffindor slytherin fight which means a billion fights would've broken out between the other house members. Sometimes, this whole house prejudice thing really sucked.**

"**Oh you've found her, then." **

**Thank god Ron had finally swallowed. He sounded like a normal human being again. And that's when I realized what he said. I whirled around and was face to face with the Veela girl. Oh, Valentine. Apparently that bath had really done her some good cause she looked amazing, like a little porcelain doll. She still did that shy little thing where she almost peeked up at you from under her eyelashes and she hid most of her face behind her hair, but even with most of her form hidden beneath baggy clothes and long silver hair, you could tell she was stunning. And when I looked over, I could tell Draco was having some very similar, albeit much less appropriate, thoughts about her as well. **

"**Come on Valentine, let's get you back to our compartment."**

**She looked over at Draco, a confused look taking hold in her eyes, before she accepted my outstretched hand and shook it. I quirked an eyebrow at that, but figured it was a French thing, and just held onto her hand while Ron and I walked her back to Hermione. **


End file.
